Amber Ale | Dry Dock Brewing Co.

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Taste: Sweet roasted toffee up front, but also there is a sweet fruit. Apricot but not quite... Can't quite place it. Mid palate the toffee and caramel take over and I start to get a sense of the coming bitterness. Finish is a mild lingering bitterness.

Feel: Medium to medium light body. Just a little bit buttery.

Overall: Better than no beer. I've had better ESBs. This one falls to pretty average, for me.

With the stalwart recipe at hand, Dry Dock Brewing Company holds true to form with a malt-centric but well-balanced ale that's easy on the sweet tooth and formulated not to overwhelm the palate of the most novice drinkers.

The beer decants with a hazy deep honey-amber hue. As it builds a frothy off-white head, the foam column soon reduces to an even sheet but intricately laces the glass with patterns of dotted specks

Sweetly scented, the ale leads with caramel, butterscotch and biscuit. A slight yougurt-like starchy twang lurks close behind, just before a muted citrus and grass note rises to balance the malts. Light marmalade scents add to the sweetness in a somewhat English-like character.

Starchy to taste, the beer's firm malty flavor rests on caramel and butterscotch but approaches toffee and cream in the middle. Lightly grassy at mid palate, the secondary tastes of citrus peels, pecans and sun-toasted barley offers a slight bitter offset to the sweetness.

Medium bodied to start, the beer's lingering sweetness is slow to fade. As the carbonation lessens, it leaves behind semi-dry malt pillars of toast, grain, and dextrine. Light warmth and grain sweetness defines the beer's lasting impressions with even-keel balance.

Dry Dock's ESB-type beer is a common rendition of American-made English-style ale. It's sweet, malty, and timidly balanced. It strives to appease those who have a taste for malt. But even with that, the depth of malt character and its dryness can be further explored without introducing any added hop influences. But it's just too simplified as it is.

Dry Dock Amber Ale: For under $16 I picked up a 12 pack of mixed Dry Dock brews. I knew the Hefe and the IPA were good, so the risk lay in the Amber and the Apricot fruit beer. I am not a big amber ale or fruit beer fan, but every now and then you need to skirt away from the tried and true. Was my gamble worth it?

The Dry Dock Amber has a very dark burnt copper color, it is almost a dark beer by appearance. The off-white head fades, the aroma is faint and narry any carbonation present. Looks more like a home brew than a craft brew. So not ashamed of the looks on a table, the taste will win or spoil the day. The flavor is thick in the malt, but not sickly sweet, there is a smoky depth to it. Despite not being a favorite style of mine, the Dry Dock Amber Ale went down pretty quick and I look forward to another. Worth a try.

S- crisp and light on the malt overall not many aromas that really stick out.

T- Like the smell it has a light malt flavor with a refreshing crispness with a slight earthy note on the finish

M- effervescent, crisp and clean.

O- This a very session-able amber with no over powering flavors and crisp refreshing bite that would be perfect for early spring or fall. It has just enough malt notes to make it an enjoyable craft beer but still be good for more than one at a cookout or camping. The ABv is 5.8%

A brief head in the tall glass on the handsome amber brew. Malty, with a nose of Mexican sugar cane candy. Less carbonated on the tongue than many brews.

Very tasty roasted malt flavor is quite distinctive, but it gets a little murky before long. Caramel stands out and lasts through to the aftertaste. Rather sweet but a scratch of hops adds some bitter balance. Quite drinkable, but after the initial nutty surprise it's just average.

This is not crisp, it's more mellow but with just a little leafy, stewed hop flavor. Grainy at the finish. From the 12 oz can purchased at Wilbur's Total Beverage in Fort Collins.